Jaime Garcia snapped a string of short starts from the Cardinals’ rotation with a performance that registered as among the most dominant by a St. Louis starter this season. Garcia stymied the Braves over eight scoreless innings and drove in the game’s only run as the Cardinals opened a six-game homestand with a 1-0 victory at Busch Stadium on Friday.

In doing so, Garcia became the first Cardinals pitcher since Harvey Haddix on July 17, 1955, to drive in the only run of a 1-0 win.
Garcia, who struggled pitching on short rest in his previous outing, rolled through an Atlanta offense that ranks last in runs scored. He notched his fourth career double-digit strikeout performance, finishing with 11. Freddie Freeman struck out four times — three times against Garcia — and Jeff Francoeur struck out three times. He completed eight innings on 89 pitches and retired the final 11 batters he faced.
“We talk about, often, when he is right and everything is coming out of his hand as it should how impressive it is and how dominating he can be,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s what he had tonight.”
The veteran left-hander provided himself with all the necessary support, too, by helping the Cardinals take advantage of one of the five free passes issued by Braves starter Joel De La Cruz. De La Cruz walked Matt Holliday to open the second and extended the inning with a walk to Jeremy Hazelbaker. Garcia lined a single to right to drive in Holliday — one of only two hits the Cardinals mustered.
The only serious predicament Garcia faced came in the fourth, and he wiggled out of that jam with relative ease.
“We had first and third and nobody out and we had the right guys up, too, and he did a great job,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “I guess [he was] keeping the ball offspeed enough and it almost seemed like he had different breaking balls. He was keeping the ball away from the fat part of the bat, that’s for sure.”
In the fourth, Garcia escaped his only jam of the night by striking out a pair of hitters who have long given him fits. Freeman came up with runners on the corners and no outs and took a called strike three. Garcia followed with a strikeout of Matt Kemp. The two had combined to go 9-for-24 against him previously. A groundout by Adonis Garcia then closed the inning for Garcia, who kept the Braves hitless in five chances with a runner in scoring position on the night.
“The way he pitched out of that, he pitched like he knew it was going to be that kind of game,” Matheny said. “He really did bear down in a big situation with the best part of their lineup there. Those are very good hitters in those situations who typically get the job done. That just shows you what kind of movement [Garcia] had.”
Ender Inciarte singled to lead off the game to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, tied for the longest current streak in the Majors. He has hit safely in 22 of 23 games since July 8, and is now two games shy of his career-best 18-game hitting streak, which he recorded in 2014.
“He’s swinging that bat and just continues [to],” Snitker said. “Great at-bat right there. Two strikes covering the plate, expanding the zone a little bit. Who knows, that could have been a double down the line.”
Garcia’s run-scoring single gave Cardinals pitchers 19 RBIs on the season, nine more than the rotation had in all of 2015. Only two clubs — the Giants and Cubs — have gotten better RBI production from their pitchers. Garcia has now driven in four on the season, equaling his RBI total from 2012-15.
“Every time I go up to the plate with guys on, whether it’s trying to advance a runner with a bunt or trying to get a hit, I prioritize it just like pitching,” Garcia said. “I’m not a good hitter, but I try to do my best to put a good swing on the ball and sometimes good stuff happens like tonight.”
De La Cruz walked two before he was pulled and Jose Ramirez took his place with one out the sixth. He loaded the bases with a walk to Yadier Molina, but got out of the jam when Jedd Gyorko flied out to right field to Francoeur, who threw home to nab Brandon Moss at the plate. It was Francoeur’s 133rd outfield assist in his career, which leads the Majors since his debut in 2005. He was surprised when Moss decided to tag up.
“There were two outs, and you take a chance sometimes with two outs,” Francoeur said. “With no outs, no, but when there is one out and you’ve got a chance there? Why not? I’m glad he did.”
The Braves will meet the Cardinals again on Saturday in the second of three with first pitch scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT. Atlanta will try to improve upon its 6-9-3 record in road series this season as Inciarte looks to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.  Thunder Radio will have the broadcast beginning at 6:00 PM as part of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.

The Nashville Sounds scored five runs in the fourth and four runs in the seventh in their 12-7 win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox Friday night at Security Service Field.

Trailing 3-2 entering the fourth, the Sounds plated five runs to take a 7-3 lead over the Sky Sox. Joey Wendle led off the inning with a single to right, and after Colin Walsh struck out, Rangel Ravelo and Bryan Anderson would both walk to load the bases. Arismendy Alcantara then tied the game at 3-3 on an RBI single scoring Wendle from third. Jaycob Brugman then put the Sounds on top 4-3 with another RBI single to score Ravelo and the bases were loaded yet again for Matt Olson.

A wild pitch by Sky Sox reliever Tyler Cravy allowed Anderson to score from third to increase the Sounds lead to 5-3. Olson then capped off the inning with a two-run single scoring Ravelo and Brugman to take a 7-3 lead.

The Sky Sox answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to get within two, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the night. Josmil Pinto led off the inning with a solo home run to left of Sounds starter Ross Detwiler. Garrin Cecchini then doubled to left, and after stealing third scored on a Kyle Wren fielder’s choice to make the score 7-5 after four.

The Sounds then added five runs in the top of the seventh to take a commanding 11-5 lead. Sam Freeman walked Chad Pinder, Renato Nunez, and Wendle to load the bases for Walsh who singled home Pinder to put the Sounds up 8-5. Ravelo then cranked a two-run double to right to score Nunez and Wendle to up the lead to 10-5. Anderson would then plate Walsh on a sacrifice fly to center to make it an 11-5 Sounds lead.

After Nate Orf singled to lead off the Sky Sox seventh, Lewis Brinson brought him home with a RBI double to right to make it an 11-6 game. Brinson then stole third and scored on a Garrett Cooper sacrifice fly to left to make the score 11-7 Sounds after seven.

Back-to-back doubles from Walsh and Ravelo stretched the Sounds lead to 12-7, as Ravelo got his third RBI of the night.

Detwiler was roughed up but picked up his fourth win in as many outings for the Sounds after allowing five runs on six hits in six innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked a pair.

Aaron Kurcz picked up his first save of the season after replacing Detwiler in the seventh and tossing the final three innings for the Sounds, and allowed just two runs on three hits.

The series concludes Saturday night at Security Service Field. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (4-1, 1.25) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Aaron Wilkerson (0-3, 6.38) for the Sky Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST.

The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19^th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visitingwww.nashvillesounds.com.

Savannah Quick with her 1st place medal after winning the 2016 Murfreesboro Invitational(Photo Provided)

For the second consecutive year, Savannah Quick shot the lowest round in girl’s play at the Murfreesboro Invitational on Thursday but this time, the CHS Golf senior did not have to lose out on a scorecard playoff.  Quick’s even par round of 72 lifted the Lady Raiders to a team score of 157 which was good enough for 4^th place in the tournament 5 strokes behind the tournament champions from Father Ryan.  Quick won the individual tournament honors.  After 2 matches, the Lady Raiders record stands at 7 and 3 on the year.

The Red Raiders once again got balanced scoring as they carded 4 scores at 77 or better to finish in 3^rd place shooting a 306.  Father Ryan won the boys tournament as well shooting a 296.  John Parigger had the low round for Coffee County with a 3 over 75.  Reid Lawrence, Samuel Prater, and Austin Farris each shot a 77 to push the Red Raiders record to 13-3 on the year.

Both teams will play Monday in the Early Bird Tournament in Cookeville.  That match is set to tee off at 8 AM.  On Tuesday, the Raider linksters will travel to Tullahoma’s Lakewood Country Club for a 9 hole match with district rivals Tullahoma and Franklin County.  That match tees off at 4:00 PM.

CHSsoccer player Makenzie Anderson(file photo)

After clawing their way to a 2 to 0 lead at the half, the Lady Raiders used 5 second half goals to thump Ooltewah 7 to 1 on Thursday night in Hamilton County. Senior Makenzie Anderson figured in both first half goals as she gathered an assist on Eliza Masters goal in the 5th minute. Anderson notched a goal on a penalty kick just before the half to stake the Lady Raiders to all the scoring they would need.
Playing 30 minute halves, Holli Smithson started the goal parade in the second half in the 34th minute on a breakaway. After Ooltewah notched their only goal in the 40th minute, Smithson tallied her 2nd goal on a corner kick from Reyna Flores. Karson Young, Maddie Creek and Flores all added goals in the final 20 minutes while Beatrice Barrera added a pair of assists and Lexie Roberts scored an assist on her own.

The Westwood Rockets football team races onto the field to start the 2016 Blue-White Game

A power transformer, which supplied electricity to the lights at Dyer-Bouldin Field, shorted out on Thursday night minutes prior to the start of the Westwood Football’s annual Blue/White game. The lack of lights, shortened the scrimmage but did not lessen the electricity found in the perimeter running game of the Rockets.
Led by Trenton Thompson and Henry Garcia, Westwood got 3 touchdowns on runs off of running plays into the boundary on the night. Defensively, the Rockets did a good job in clogging up the middle and intercepted 2 passes on the night.
Coach Chad Dyer was pleased overall with the play of his team but wants to see better execution on offense especially in timing. When asked what he wants to work on in Friday’s jamboree, Coach Dyer had this to say:

The Rockets will travel to Wartrace on Friday night to take part in the Cascade Jamboree. Westwood will take on Middle Tennessee Christian at 5:30. The Rockets return home to open the season on Thursday when they play host to Forrest. That game will kick-off at 6:30 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports series.

With the regular season approaching next week for some local prep teams, the Coffee County CHS Lady Raider soccer team and the Coffee County Middle School volleyball team will participate in a pair of scrimmage playdays on Saturday.
The Central High School soccer team will host their scrimmage tournament at the soccer field and Carden-Jarrell Field behind the Raider Academy. 11 teams will take part in 22 games on the day beginning at 9 AM. The Lady Raiders and the JV Lady Raiders will compete on the day. The varsity team will have games at 9 AM, 10:20AM, 1 PM and 2:20. The JV team will play at: 9:40 AM, 12:20 PM, 1:40 PM and 3:40 PM. Each game is scheduled for 30 minutes. The Lady Raiders open the regular season on August 16th when they play host to Smyrna at the Roader Soccer Field. That game is set to get underway at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports series.

2016 Middle School volleyball play day hosted by Central High

The Coffee County Middle School volleyball team will participate in a scrimmage playday on Saturday hosted by the Coffee County Central High School. The Lady Raiders will play 4 games beginning at 9 AM. Their other games will be at 10 AM, 11 AM and 1 PM. The Lady Raiders open the regular season on Tuesday when they travel to Flintville for a 5:30 match.

With less than two months remaining in this season, the Pirates can’t afford to have any more road trips prove to be as frustrating as the one that concluded on Thursday night, when Ryan Vogelsong’s impressive comeback was tarnished by an error that allowed the Braves to score two seventh-inning runs and claim a 5-2 victory.

Jeff Francoeur’s two-out RBI single off Felipe Rivero capped the decisive two-run seventh for the Braves, who have won six of their past nine games. Francoeur would not have been given this opportunity to deliver this game-winner had third baseman Jung Ho Kang not dropped a throw from Rivero after Adonis Garcia was seemingly hung out to dry between second and third base. Garcia scored on the play and made a winner of Tyrell Jenkins, who limited the Pirates to one run despite issuing four walks over six innings.
Making his first start since suffering multiple facial fractures when he was hit by a pitch on May 23, Vogelsong limited the Braves to one run over six innings. The veteran hurler was perfect in five of his six innings and surrendered each of the three hits charged to him during the third inning, which began with Ender Inciarte extending his hitting streak to 15 games with a leadoff single. The Pirates scored two runs or fewer three times while going 1-5 during this six-game road trip that began in Milwaukee.
From “Oh, no” to “Go, go go!”: With runners at first and second and one out in the seventh inning, Garcia took off for third base as Rivero came set from the stretch. The left-handed reliever’s throw easily beat Garcia, but Kang didn’t secure the shoulder-high throw that bounced off his glove and deflected toward left field, allowing Garcia to race home in uncontested fashion.
Although he received a no-decision on Thursday, Vogelsong shined in his first game back from the 60-day disabled list. The right-hander pitched two perfect innings to open the contest before running into trouble in the third. But after giving up Erick Aybar’s infield RBI single, he struck out Freddie Freeman and got Matt Kemp to fly out to center to escape a bases-loaded jam. The two outs represented the first of 11 straight batters the 39-year-old retired before exiting the game after six impressive innings.

The Braves travel to St. Louis for a weekend series with the Cardinals beginning Friday night.  Thunder Radio will bring you all 3 games in the series beginning on Friday night as we join the Atlanta Braves Radio Network at 6 PM.

The Nashville Sounds held off a late Colorado Springs rally for a 5-4 win Thursday night at Security Service Field.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sounds reliever Eduard Santos worked himself out of a jam. Santos got Sky Sox Andrew Susac to hit a ground ball to Chad Pinder who stepped on second to preserve the 5-4 Sounds win.

J.B. Wendelken started the Sounds ninth as he came on with two outs in the eighth inning to replace Angel Castro as the Sounds lead 5-2. Josmil Pinto led off the ninth with a walk to start the Sky Sox rally. Wendelken then settled himself and promptly struck out the next two batters in Michael Reed and Yadiel Rivera.

Then a late two-out ninth inning rally surged as Kyle Wren roped a single into left advancing Pinto to third. Wendleken then plunked Nate Orf to load the bases for Lewis Brinson. Brinson last night’s hero for the Sky Sox then sent a two-out two-run single to score Pinto and Wren to make the score 5-4.

Santos was then summoned from the Sounds bullpen to try to record the final out. Santos walked Garret Cooper to load the bases and eventually got Susac to hit the ball to Pinder to end the game.

Sounds starter Jharel Cotton who was recently acquired as part of the trade that sent Josh Reddick and Rich Hill to the Dodgers in exchange for three prospects dominated in his Sounds debut. The right-hander scattered six hits over six innings and gave up just one run on a Michael Reed fifth inning home run.
Cotton picked up his ninth win of the season in his Sounds debut as he struck out five Sky Sox.

The Sounds got out to an early lead thanks to a two-run double from Renato Nunez in the second inning. Back-to-back singles from Matt Olson and Brett Eibner set the table for Nunez’s 58th and 59th RBI of the season. Nunez quickly added to his season RBI total again in the fourth inning as he launched a two-run home run to left to put the Sounds on top 4-0. The home run was the 22-year-olds 18th of the season.

Reed put the only damper on Cotton’s stellar Sounds debut when he sent a solo home run to left field to put the Sky Sox on the board as they trailed 4-1 after five.

With two outs in the seventh inning, the Sounds loaded the bases after Sky Sox reliever Michael Kirkman took over for Drew Gagnon. With Matt McBride already on first with a lead-off singe, Jaycob Brugman then singled as well to put runners at first and second. Chad Pinder then walked to load the bases for Matt Olson.

With Olson batting, a wild pitch from Kirkman allowed McBride to score from third to give the Sounds a 5-1 lead.

Cotton’s night was done with a 5-1 lead in hand as Ryan Brasier took over and struck out the side in order in the seventh.

The win keeps the Sounds division lead at 10 games with just 31games left to play in the season.

Game three of the series is set for Friday night at Security Service Field. Left-hander Ross Detwiler (3-0, 2.60) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Wily Peralta (1-3, 6.34) for the Sky Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CST.

The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.